To be honest, I never thought I’d be one of those people. You know, that extremely crafty crowd of people who love to make things, and who make all of their Christmas gifts?

I’m way too lazy for that.

But here we are, December 2011, and it turns out that I’m actually using all the craftiness I have to make my Christmas gifts. In the recent months I’ve been faced with both a problem and its solution : I had very little money for Christmas gifts this year, and I have an immense stash of yarn. So I decided, I’ll be knitting for Christmas! I still have lots to do, but I’m confident I can make it (especially once the extra yarn I ordered finally arrives home!)

I really wanted to share with you all what I’ve been working on, but since I have some friends and family members (whom these gifts are for) who sometimes stop by the blog, I have to be careful!

So think of it like a game : what am I making, and for whom?

There’s this one, that’s finished and ready to be wrapped :

And this colorful buddy, which is close to completion but is still missing some crucial parts :

This is going to be super colorful, and I am actually putting the last touch to it this very afternoon :

And there are more! I am currently waiting on Christmas colors to make my mom some cute, tiny, Christmas ornaments, and on some pink to make my friend a toy for her new baby 🙂 And then, I promised something for the Man of the House, but that will depend on how much time I have left!

I’ve knit something for my mom almost every year since I started knitting about 4, 5 years ago, but it’s the first time that I actually decided to make this many gifts for Christmas. It’s been keeping me busy but it also feels really good at the same time! I hope the recipients will enjoy them at least half as much as I enjoyed making them. 🙂

About three years ago, in October 2008, I gave a try to knitting my first pair of socks. It looked very intricate to me, but socks are something knitters seemed to be making by the dozen, so I figured I could at least give it a try.

When I got to the heel I was puzzled. I felt my pattern’s instructions were unclear and looking for help on the internet only confused me more. So I put the sock aside to be finished later, after some rest.

Almost three years later, I picked it up again. I had to finish at least one pair of socks in my life, even if they were to be the only pair I ever made. Giving a look at the pattern, it was all suddenly very clear to me. In only a couple days I was done with the first sock and enthusiastically starting the second one.

There was only one problem with my plan :

The socks are clearly not the same size! The left one is larger, and a bit longer, than the other, which has a more fitted size.

Yes, that is what I get for knitting these three years apart!

They have other tiny faults, but none as obvious as the size difference.

I still love them though; they’re warm, and comfy, and more than anything : I made these myself!

I have put my hands on many more books and patterns and read a lot on sock making. I see plenty more of socks in my knitting future !

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about my knitting, and I had a good reason for that : I had been working on a special gift for my aunt, something that easily took me 40+ hours to make. It’s a Valentine Shawl, and it’s filled with heart as you can see! 😀

My aunt Gabby had to have open-heart surgery last winter and the road to recovery has been a difficult one. On top of that, she has been showing signs of some memory trouble, which the doctors think are signs of Alzheimer (she still has some tests to run to verify the diagnostic).

I’m hoping this will bring her some support and comfort and love in a difficult time. My aunt has been giving all of her life – to my grandma, to her brothers and sisters, to my mom and I, to everyone. I thought it was time to turn things around, and for me to give her something special 🙂 She more than deserves it! I’ll be seeing her at the start of August and I can’t wait to give it to her!